Porsche is having its day in the sun with a fantastic festival near Auckland.

STAR power was blazing bright at the first of consecutive festival weekends celebrating Porsche at the Hampton Downs circuit, south of Auckland.

New Zealand's endurance racing champions and mates from childhood World Endurance Champion Brendon Hartley and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Earl Bamber and four stunning factory cars direct from Porsche were the draws of the first weekend.

The 1977 Porsche 935 and a 1998 WSC LMP1 Prototype are loaners from the famous Stuttgart museum. Opening weekend also availed first-time NZ public on-track showings of the brand’s most exotic recent road-tailored, limited-edition million dollar (actually, several and appreciating) special project babies, the 918 Spyder and its predecessor in ultimate presige, the amazing Carrera GT.

These headline attractions didn’t disappoint: These Stuttgart stunners looked and sounded amazing during their circuit demonstrations.

What made the weekend all the more wow-worthy was that it pulled in hundreds of privately-own race and road cars gathered from throughout the country (and some from beyond), many of which also took to the track in spirited style. More than 200 hit the track for a parade lap.